Page 218 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

ROSE AND THORN DUNGEON FEATURES
If either the dollhouse or the chest is disturbed, the The dungeon level underneath Death House is carved
ghosts of Rose and Thorn appear in the middle of the out of earth, clay, and rock. The tunnels are 4 feet wide by
room. Use the ghost statistics in the Monster Manual, 7 feet high with timber braces at 5-foot intervals. Rooms
with the following modifications: are 8 feet tall and supported by thick wooden posts with
crossbeams. The only exception is area 38, which has a
, The ghosts are Small and lawful good. 16-foot-high ceiling supported by stone pillars. Characters
They have 35 (10d6) hit points each. without darkvision must provide their own light sources,
They lack the Horrifying Visage action. as the dungeon is unlit.
They speak Common and have a challenge rating of As the characters explore the dungeon, they see cen­
3 (700 XP). turies-old human footprints in the earthen floor leading
every which way.
The children don't like it when the characters disturb
their toys, but they fight only in self-defense. Unlike the The characters find the replica secret door in the attic
illusions outside the house, these children know that of the doll house (area 20).
they're dead. If asked how they died, Rose and Thorn
explain that their parents locked them in the attic to Once the house wills the secret door into existence,
protect them from "the monster in the basement," and characters find it automatically if they search the wall
that they died from hunger. If asked how one gets to (no ability check required). Characters who descend the
the basement, Rose points to the doll house and says, spiral staircase end up in area 22.
"There's a secret door in the attic." Characters who then
search the dollhouse for secret doors gain advantage on 22. DUNGEON LEVEL ACCESS
their Wisdom (Perception) checks to find them. The wooden spiral staircase from the attic ends here.
The children fear abandonment. If one or more char­ A narrow tunnel stretches southward before branching
acters try to leave, the ghost-children attempt to possess east and west.
them. If one of the ghosts possesses a character, allow
the player to retain control of the character, but assign GHOSTLY CH ANTING
the character one of the following flaws: From the moment they arrive in the dungeon, the
characters can hear an eerie, incessant chant echoing
A character possessed by Rose gains the following throughout. It's impossible to gauge where the sound is
flaw: "I like being in charge and get angry when other coming from until the characters reach area 26 or 29.
people tell me what to do." They can't discern its words until they reach area 35.
A character possessed by Thorn gains the following
flaw: "I'm scared of everything, including my own 23. FAMILY CRYPTS
shadow, and weep with despair when things don't
go my way." Several crypts have been hewn from the earth. Each
crypt is sealed with a stone slab unless noted otherwise.
A character possessed by the ghost of Rose or Thorn Removing a slab from its fitting requires a successful
won't willingly leave Death House or the dungeon be­ DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check; using a crowbar or
low it. Both ghosts can be intimidated into leaving their the like grants advantage on the check.
hosts with a successful DC 11 Charisma I ntimidation)
(
check made as an action. 23A. EMPTY CRYPT
A ghost reduced to O hit points can reform at dawn The blank stone slab meant to seal this crypt leans
the next day. The only way to put the children's spirits to against a nearby wall. The crypt is empty.
rest is to put their skeletal remains in their tombs (areas
23E and 23F). The children don't know this, however. 23B. WALTER'S CRYPT
The stone slab meant to seal this crypt leans against
DEVELOPMENT a nearby wall. Etched into it is the name Walter Durst.
If the party lays the children's spirits to rest, each The crypt is empty.
character gains inspiration (see "Inspiration" in chap­
ter 4, "Personality and Background," of the Player's 23C. GUSTAV'S CRYPT
Handbook). The stone slab is etched with the name Gustav Durst.
The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin atop a
21. SECRET STAIRS stone bier.
A narrow spiral staircase made of creaky wood is con­
tained within a 5-foot-wide shaft of mortared stone that 23D. ELISABETH'S CRYPT
starts in the attic and descends 50 feet to the dungeon The stone slab is etched with the name Elisabeth Durst.
level, passing through the lower levels of the house as The crypt contains a stone bier with an empty coffin
it makes its descent. Thick cobwebs fill the shaft and atop it. A swarm of insects (centipedes) boils out of the
reduce visibility in the staircase to 5 feet. back wall and attacks if the coffin is disturbed.
The secret door and shaft don't exist until the house 23E. ROSE'S CRYPT
reveals them, which can happen in one of two ways: The stone slab is etched with the name Rosavalda
The characters !i,nd Strahd's letter in the secret room Durst. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin on
behind the library (area 9). a stone bier.
-- APPENDIX B I DEATH HOUSE
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